Home Depot plans a repurchase of $ 15 billion, confirms 2017 guidance before investor day

Shares of Home Depot Inc. (HD) were active in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the home improvement retailer reaffirmed its annual sales and earnings information before an investor's conference call from its headquarters in Atlanta. plan.

Home Depot said it expects year-round sales to increase 6.3% from 2016, with the same sales increasing 6.5%. Diluted earnings per share for the full year are expected to increase 14% to $ 7.36, the company said, and said it will buy an additional $ 2,100 million in the current fiscal quarter, taking year-over repurchases to $ 8,000 million. . The company also announced that it has announced a "$ 1

5 billion share repurchase program, replacing its prior authorization." From 2002 through the third quarter of fiscal 2017, the company returned approximately $ 73 billion in cash to shareholders through repurchases, repurchasing approximately 1,300 million shares. "

" The retail landscape is changing at an unprecedented pace and we plan to invest for the future to address the changing needs of our customers. "We will accelerate our investments, while continuing to focus on offering value that our shareholders expect from The Home Depot, "CEO Craig Menear said.

Home Depot shares fell 0.19% since their close on Tuesday in pre-market trading in New York, indicating an opening price of $ 182.50, a move that would take their six-month profit around 18%.

Home Depot posted a huge 7.9% increase in comparable store sales in the third quarter, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of 5.8%. It also crushed profits, reporting $ 1.84 per share, 2 cents above forecasts. Total revenues for the Atlanta-based retailer were $ 25.03 billion, up 8% from the same period last year. Third-quarter earnings increased 15% compared to the previous year. Comp sales in the US UU They increased slightly more slowly, by 7.7%.